Consumers are growing frustrated as they find their current doctors aren’t included in new Covered California individual and family plan (IFP) health insurance networks. There is also widespread uncertainty about the rules of in-network providers with the new Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPOs) and California’s new 19 pricing regions. When California consumers are craving information the doctors have been silent and the insurance companies along with Covered California are providing scant information.
Health Net of California
Posts related to Health Net of California health insurance plans for individuals, families, small groups, Covered California.
California Farm Bureau Health Plans Closing
As a consequence of the Affordable Care Act, Health Net will have to discontinue offering health plans to California Farm Bureau Federation members in 2014. Current Health Net members in the affected plans will be receiving letters from the California Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF) notifying them of the discontinued health insurance.
Medicare Advantage Plan Closures in California 2014
Thousands of Medicare Advantage plan members in California are receiving letters that their health plans are closing from carriers such as Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net. Some of the health insurance companies will be leaving some counties completely while others will be offering new Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to their members. Regardless of the reasons, the plan closure triggers a Special Enrollment Period for Medicare beneficiaries to select a new plan offered in their county.
Health Net to scrap all California IPF health plans
In communication with their brokers on September 10, Health Net said they would be closing all their California individual and family plans (IFP) as of December 31, 2013. The closures do not affect their small or large group plans. The announcement cited the development of all new Affordable Care Act compliant plans as a reason for scrapping all the old ones.
New Covered California Small Business Plans Look Competitive
Covered California released their small business health option plans (SHOP) for small employers and they might prove competitive for some companies with less than 50 employees. There will absolutely be small businesses that will not participate because they don’t want to support any government bureaucracy, even if it is to their benefit.
Children’s Dental Insurance added to Covered California
Children’s dental insurance options have now been added to the line of plans being offered through California’s health insurance exchange Covered California. Part of the ten Essential Health Benefits that must be offered through the new health insurance exchanges or Marketplaces is pediatric dental. The state exchanges can meet this requirement in various ways and Covered California has opted to offer stand alone plans.
Health Net rebates .3% to California group plans
Health Net announced that under the Affordable Care Act Medical Loss Ratio requirements they would be issuing a rebate of .3% to their small groups in California based on 2012 expenditures. The letters dated May 30, 2013 are being sent to the small group administrators and subscribers.
Report cards for Covered California health plans
Covered California will be offering 13 different health insurance plans to individuals and families. Some of the plans will be offered through large commercial insurance companies and other from smaller regional organizations. Ten of the thirteen plans have some form of easily accessible report card on their services from either a state agency or accreditation organization.
Comparing health plans offered by Covered California
It’s hard to compare the plans side by side because of the diversity populations they serve and lack of data on some of the health insurance companies. Much of the information about the different health plans and companies is spread out over several different agencies, reports and websites.
13 plans included in Covered California health insurance exchange
Only two plans, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California will be available in all the 19 regions in California. All of the regions will have at least 3 health insurance plans to choose from. Many of the plans are region specific to areas such as San Diego, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area. In addition, some of the plans have concentrated primarily in Medi-Cal and Medicare market and this will be their first push into the individual market.